Thanks to bigger digs, newlyweds Nick and Cecilia Perino in 2014 hosted their first Thanksgiving and Christmas for family members who live in Decatur, Alpharetta and Cumming.
The couple worked with Allison Levent with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers to buy an inside-the-Perimeter home with an updated kitchen. Nick, 32, a butcher, and Cecilia, 30, a web designer, chatted about their Atlanta home.
Q: What sparked buying a house?
Nick: We were fed up with living in an apartment. Being married was like the, 'OK, we can buy a house.' We wanted some place with more space. We wanted some place without neighbors living above and below us.
Cecilia: We really wanted a place that people would like to come over to and we would be comfortable here and entertain. I just don't think we thought we could ever afford it.
Q: In what rooms did you want to have space?
Nick: Our apartment had everything in one large common area. Now we've got a dining room, a family room, a kitchen, a living room.
Cecilia: Our biggest goal was the kitchen. When we were looking, it was kind of hard. It could have been the right price in the right area but the kitchen needed a lot of work. Nick is an amazing cook. We wanted to be able to jump right in and to cook and to have people over. We fell in love with our kitchen. It has a huge utility room and we turned it into our pantry. It was perfect.
Q: Had the kitchen been updated?
Nick: It had been recently updated with brand new appliances and marble countertops.
Q: What has surprised you about the location?
Cecilia: It's in the city of Atlanta. But it's crazy. There's so much wildlife and space outside. We've heard owls and hawks. We've seen bats and chipmunks and giant turtles.
Nick: There's a 5-acre undeveloped lot right next to us. We're near a small lake in the Briarcliff area. There's a lot of wildlife that's centered around that lake. It's neat to have that but still be 20 minutes from Midtown.
Q: What did you learn while buying a home?
Cecilia: Definitely about our finances. I think it made me take a better look at our spending. I remember getting an email from our broker (asking), "What's this $45 charge?" I got my nails done. I was like, I'm spending on things that could go to home improvement.
Nick: We were able to send so many documents digitally. The time from putting the offer in to closing was pretty short, only about 30 days. That really blew me away: How quick we were able to find the house and then put the offer through, get all the documents for the loan completed, and close and move in.
At a Glance
Nick and Cecilia Perino’s home, built in 1964, has three bedrooms, two baths and about 1,714 square feet. They purchased it in September. Single-family homes in Atlanta’s Briarcliff area, in DeKalb County, range from the $250,000s-$320,000s.
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